Credit Canucks for playing smarter than Blackhawks
Troy Murray, who spent 12 years of a 15-year career with the Blackhawks and now is the team's color analyst on WGN 720-AM, offers his perspective on the Blackhawks-Canucks series.
Q: Were the Blackhawks reading their own press clippings coming into Game 3?
Murray: No. I just think Vancouver played a real smart, solid game. I think the Blackhawks were a little flat for whatever reason. But I also think Vancouver didn't give them a reason for them or the crowd to get excited. They were the better team on the ice.
Q: Does it fall on the Hawks leaders or Joel Quenneville to make sure they're not flat again Thursday?
Murray: It's not the fault of the coaches. They do the same preparation that they always do for every game in the playoffs. Maybe there was a bit of inexperience showing. For whatever reason, they didn't have their best game.
They'll be better the next game, I have no doubt about that.
But that was an opportunity they let slip away, and Vancouver, in some ways, understood the magnitude of that game more. They were more dedicated to the game than I think the Blackhawks were.
Q: When you played, did your team have dud games like that?
Murray: Oh sure. It's human nature. They were all excited about themselves. They played very well in Vancouver and they came back here and sometimes you have a mental view on things that it's easier on home ice. It's not easier on home ice. The thing about the playoffs is you address the negatives and build on the positives.
Q: What impressed you about Vancouver's performance in Game 3?
Murray: To me, I thought they changed their style considerably and were more dedicated to how they wanted to play defensively. They had 21 blocked shots.
It seemed like when the Blackhawks had possession, it was on the outside. When you hold the Blackhawks to 7 shots in the first and second periods, you're doing a pretty good job defensively.
Q: What do the Hawks have to do Thursday?
Murray: I think they have to sense danger a little bit more. They have to read the situation on the ice a little more. If the challenge 1-on-1 is not there, then there has to be some better decisions being made.
There was a lot of open ice in Vancouver, and there was no open ice Tuesday. You have to accept that if Vancouver plays that well Thursday, there are going to be battles all over the ice for space. Understand that's where the game is won and lost, and don't make mistakes.
• Mike Spellman interviews Troy Murray before each playoff game. Murray is in his sixth season as color analyst for Blackhawks radio broadcasts on WGN 720-AM.